While most people have mixed feelings about the quality of Netflix content, there are a few series that make the streaming service worth paying for, including some of Netflix's original shows. The Queen's Gambit is one such series, with intriguing visuals, a catchy and fitting soundtrack, and clever presentation of the plot.
Perhaps most impressively, The Queen's Gambit successfully presents chess as highly intense. This is in spite of the fact that chess is hardly a spectator sport.
The Queen's Gambit follows orphaned Elizabeth Harmon through the fifties and sixties as she grows into an antisocial chess prodigy. Blessed and cursed with her mother's math genius, she channels most of her passion into becoming the next International Chess Champion. Along the way, she struggles with her emotions, relationships, and addictions.
Beth's coming-of-age story unfolds in ways that are both glamorous and cruel; the more she spirals into addiction, the more she dresses extravagantly, alone, in her charming little house. While undoubtedly a genius, she is also prickly, and narratively, she's portrayed as being in the wrong as often as she's right. The audience is able to feel sorry for her even when we are meant to disagree with her actions.
While there is some nuance to the plot, it is not without a few faults. Race and gender are not explored as thoroughly as the series congratulates itself. The latter is especially noteworthy, as Beth is the only woman competing in most of the chess tournaments, but the casual sexism she faces is barely acknowledged.
That being said, The Queen's Gambit is plenty compelling for a mini-series. The show has interesting visuals that show most of the story without it being spoon-fed to the audience via obnoxious telling, i.e. narration. Enola Holmes, another new and original Netflix piece, is a major offender of such blatant and lazy exposition.
As an added bonus, Anya Taylor-Joy's stylistic sixties outfits and Beth's eventual life-long friendships are a delight to witness.